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MuseumLab Entrance. The entrance of a stone building with a large clock tower, featuring arched doorways and staircases leading to the entry door with visible glass panels.

MuseumLab at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Located adjacent to the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh in the historic 1890 Carnegie Library, MuseumLab® served as the first test project for the Innovative Solutions for Universal Design (isUD) standard.

Project Description

MuseumLab achieved LEED Gold certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions in areas including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. This adaptive reuse project – described by the project team as “a beautiful ruin,” aimed to preserve and expose as much of the original 1890 archways, columns and mosaic floors as possible while bolstering the building’s energy efficiency. Architect Koning Eizenberg notes that “introduction of daylight was a key way of providing expression and reinforcing the reveal. Windows were reinstated and a 2nd floor skylit gathering space was created in a lightwell. That light suffused space has a wintergarden quality with great value in Pittsburgh’s cold winters. Light filters from the gathering space through structural glass flooring to the Grable Gallery below. There it illuminates the art installation by FreelandBuck that evokes the Tiffany glass ceiling that was lost many years ago.”

High Performance Building Case Study

MuseumLab: A Beautiful Ruin

Pittsburgh, PA

Completed

2020

Municipality

City of Pittsburgh

Neighborhood

North Side

Certifications

LEED Gold; isUD

Key Green Features

2030 District Partner
Accessible & Universal Design
Adaptive Reuse
Biophilic Design
Community Engagement
Daylighting
Efficient Energy Systems
Indoor Air Quality Monitoring
Integrative Design
Materials Selection (Healthy)
Systems Commissioning

Building Use

Assembly
Education
Institutional
Multi-Use

Awards Received

2022 Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) Buildy Award 2021 AIA California Honor & Leading Edge Award 2020 Best of Design for Adaptive Reuse, Architect’s Newspaper 2020 Dezeen Award for the Civic and Cultural Interiors of the Year 2020 Dezeen Public Vote Winner, Civic and Cultural Interior 2020 SXSW finalist Learn By Design 2020 The Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Award for Construction Rehabilitation, Preservation Pennsylvania 2020 Museums and Cultural Buildings Category, American Architectural Award, Chicago Athenaeum’s 2020 Architectural Excellence Honor Award for Interior Architecture, American Institute of Architects, Pennsylvania 2020 Silver Award, Large Category, American Institute of Architects, Pittsburgh Chapter 2020 American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles Typology: Adaptive Reuse/Renovation/Historical Preservation 2020 Architizer A+ Award, Cultural-Museum category, jury-selected 2020 Architizer A+ Awards, 2020 Special Nominee 2020 Institutional Award of Merit from PA Museums 2020 Australian Institute of Architects International Award for Heritage Architecture 2020 Australian Institute of Architects International Award for Sustainable Architecture 2019 Universal Design certificate (first ever in US) from the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA) at the University of Buffalo 2019 Building Excellence Award, Renovation Construction Over $10 million, Finalist, Master Builders’ Association 2019 Vanguard Award, Green Building Alliance 2018 Visionary Place, ULI Pittsburgh 6th Annual Placemaking Awards of Excellence

Building Size

52,000

Building Owner

Children's Museum of Pittsburgh

Project Team

Koening Eizenberg, PWWG, FreelandBuck, BranchPattern, Iams Consulting, Babich Acoustics, Atlantic Engineering Solutions, Clio Consulting, Langan, Mascaro Construction